The document discusses how our perceptions shape our reality and how we can miss important things if we only perceive at a surface level. It gives the example of Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinists, performing anonymously in a Washington D.C. subway station but generating little notice from passersby. It emphasizes that different people can perceive the same situation differently based on their experiences and priorities. The perception process involves selecting, organizing, and interpreting environmental data, all of which are influenced by psychological and physical factors. Reality testing through communication and examining other perspectives is important to identify a more accurate shared reality.

1. Our Perception is Our Reality
By
Lisa Polydoros
Speech 104
Professor Marteney

2. There is more to life
than what we perceive
On a cold January morning in 2007, a man played a violin in a
busy Washington D.C. subway station during rush hour.
Passersby stopped to watch for a minute, if that, and
then some threw change into his violin case as a tip.
After he was done playing, there was no applause,
he just walked away quietly with the $32 he
had made from tips for 45 minutes of playing.
No one had noticed him leaving.
If you had seen this, what would you think? That he is a
homeless man trying to earn some money, right?
So did everyone else. But, in fact…

3.  it was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians
in the world.
 AND… he had just played 2 days earlier in a
sold-out Boston theatre with tickets costing about
$100 each.
 AND… he was playing a piece by Bach that is
one of the most intricate pieces of music ever
written.
 AND… the violin he was using was worth $3.5

4. Consider this…
 What else might we be missing everyday?
 My Perception, is my REALITY. Your perception
is your REALITY.
 We either place value on things to give them
value, or do not place value on things and then
they have no value.

5. What is YOUR
Perception?
 No 2 people perceive the same situation exactly
the same way
 We each take different meanings from different
environmental messages everyday
 We each use the perception process to
accomplish this

6. The Perception
Process
 First – we select data from the environment using
our senses and filter out the rest
 Second – we sort the information by organizing and
prioritizing according to our uniquely individual past
experiences
 Third – we interpret the data by assigning meaning
to it based on our past experience

7. Recognizing
Data:
We recognize data:
 Psychologically – by our mood and state of
mind
 Physically – by our physical condition
(senses, age, health, fatigue, hunger, etc.)

8. Organizing
Data:
 Language helps us organize data
 The more limited our vocabulary, the more limited
our reality

9. Factors that Influence
how we interpret data
 Formal learning teaches us the socially correct
view of our environment.
 Experiences are informal learning occurrences.
 Expectations are perceptions that we expect to
conform to.
 Closure is making sense out of data and filling in
missing information if necessary.
 Selective Perception is using heuristics as
mental shortcuts to interpret the environment.
 Patterning uses new perceptions to reinforce our
current reality to avoid cognitive dissonance.

10. Reality
Testing
 Reality Testing is necessary to narrow the
differences in perceptions between people.
 It is necessary to realize that each person’s
interpretation of a perception is not fact.

11. Reality
Testing
 Communication narrows the gap between
people’s perceptions.
 comparing realities lets us know if our perceptions
are reasonable
 examining a variety of realities might lead to the
discovery of a more accurate reality
 reevaluate your data if your reality cannot be
validated by others
 be sure to compare realities with a variety of
people, not just those who are like-minded

12. Reality
Testing
 Become a better listener
 Empathetic listeners can recreate another’s
perspective by putting themselves in their position
 Deliberative listening is for gathering information
and content

13. Stati
s
 We all want a reality we are comfortable with
 Statis is a reality on a particular subject
 it is the absence of change in one more realities for an
extended period of time
 it is the existing state of things
 it is physical and/or emotional contentment
 it is our comfort zone
 We perceive the world according to our stasis
 We defend our reality as being the most accurate